Vilnius “Wolves Twinsbet” manager of basketball operations Algimantas of Bruges review of the team’s offseason work.
In an interview prepared by the club, a smooth and early situation was highlighted.
“This summer, we felt that we had more control over our situation, especially in the case of Lithuania. We prepared well, we predicted some situations, we moved well and finished everything very quickly”, said A. Bružas.
At the same time, it was recognized that there was no lack of influence on problems that arose after the summer work last season, so this time a slightly different model was used.
“In terms of lessons, you should look at last season and the reasons why we couldn’t get a result. I would especially emphasize the European Cup season and that December-January period. It felt like our poor pre-season cost us a lot because we didn’t have half of our squad. This had a huge impact on the health and fitness of the players during the season. We had a lot of injuries, we lost games in the European Cup and that stopped us from going to the next round. Similarly, we had problems with health in the LKL playoffs, we didn’t have a series of important players.
This is one of the things we pay attention to. We wanted to put together a team that, for the most part at least, would get to the preseason camp on time. We won’t have Arnold Kulboka, who continues his injury rehabilitation, we won’t have Andrew Andrews at the start, but everyone else should be there and hopefully that will be a better start to the season,” said one of the “Wolves” managers.
Twinsbet Wolves coach selection comprehensive review – Wolves will be coached by a foreigner for the first time. Such duties were given to the Italian Alessandro Magro, and such a decision was not made by chance.
“We were looking for a coach who was ambitious and had a strong desire to achieve something in basketball. At the same time, we also needed knowledge, it is necessary to achieve something. Alessandro had three tough seasons with Brescia in Italy and also had experience working in Poland. Hopefully this will help his adjustment process in LKL. It was important to us that the coach should be able to communicate very well and find a language with foreigners. It is inevitable that we have to have a lot of foreigners in the team, because we cannot buy the best Lithuanians. We try to find that balance. To be successful, the coach must find a common language with locals and foreigners.
Alessandro was an inspiring and visionary coach. He has contributed a lot to the team this summer, working and talking to players individually, both with the existing players and trying to bring in other players. Thanks to him, several new people ended up in the team. We are delighted that he has joined us as he fits the criteria we used to select a coach.
He identified three players he needs. There is a big focus on perimeter creators who can create one-on-one or two-on-two basketball. He also needs good pitchers, and athleticism was the third requirement. Overall athleticism, not only players who can run fast or jump high, but also be physically strong in the box. We focused on the perimeter, we want to have the strongest players there, and design the rest of the team around those players who would have specific tasks. The team must not only have players who want to have the ball, but there must be a balance between leaders and role players”, said A. Bružas.
The clear vision of the club is to entrust the regalia of the leaders to Anthony Cowan and Andrew Andrews, who have completed the defensive line.
“Both Cowan and Andrews have already proven their ability to lead a European Cup team. These are strong players in their own right, and both of them can take the initiative and solve problems themselves creatively and create for others. Especially Cowan, since we expect more creativity. We see Andy more as a finisher. We will see how they come together, but we see them as important players on which our results will depend. We hope they will come in, drive in and help us a lot,” said the Lithuanian.
The revival of young Lithuanians was also celebrated. Mareks Blaževičius, Matas Jogėla and Arnoldas Kulboka tried to make their way abroad a few years ago, and now they decided to return to their home country. Their common feature is that they are all under the age of 26.
“It is good that the Lithuanians who have interested us for a long time will return to Lithuania – Mareks Blaževičius, Matas Jogėla and Arnoldas Kulboka. I think these are players who have something to prove, who have ambitions. They are still on their way to the top level and we are happy to have them on our team. We can see their potential, their growth and the fact that they will have important roles. We hope they will find their place and help us achieve results. We see Daniel Baslykas more as a player who doesn’t let others relax in training and games. We see potential in him, a player who is very demanding, and that is why he impressed us in Šiauliai”, said A. Bružas.
He also looked at the issue of midfielders, which basketball experts are questioning in the public space.
“Teams that win are not the ones where all five positions are covered by scores or famous names. We see that the winning teams in both the EuroLeague and the Olympics are the ones that have a good balance between leaders and role players. In the same way, we also looked at the positions when we were choosing. We prioritized defenders who would have more responsibility, and next to them we wanted players who could do other things better. We wanted different players in the midfield position, we have Marek Blaževičius, Garrison Brooks, Regimantas Miniotas will also play a bit. They all have different things to offer. Garrison has made great strides and can go even higher,” said the head of basketball operations.
The team’s goals for the European Cup were reviewed in the summary.
“Time will tell if our plans and thoughts will turn into victory and get into the next round. You can’t plan many things, especially health issues, injuries. Let’s remember what we spent dearly last season. We hope for the best, that we stay healthy and achieve that result”, said A. Bružas.
The Vilnius team has a month and a half left until the start of the international season – a visit to Hapoel Tel Aviv awaits on October 1st. Meanwhile, the schedule of the Lithuanian Basketball League (Betsafe-LKL) has not yet been announced.
2024-08-13 09:06:00
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